Lady O'Connor
by penofjade
Summary: Alexandra O'Connor was tough. Alexandra O'Connor was respected. Alexandra O'Connor was...lonely. Please be aware that there is some cursing in this story.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:This is a story I started awhile back and have stalled out on. I'm hoping, by putting it on here, that I will be inspired to continue writing. Please enjoy Alexandra "Lady" O'Connor as she leads the Queens newsies following the Newsie Strike of 1899.**  
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><p>Alexandra O'Connor was tough. Alexandra O'Connor was respected. Alexandra O'Connor was...lonely.<p>

Being in charge of the newsies of Queens, New York, was not an easy or especially coveted job. In fact, her rule was the longest of any of her predecessors. The main reason for that wasn't their inability or unworthiness. No. It was merely based on the environment. Queens had the fewest number of lodging houses for its newsies. Why? It was a neighborhood made up of homes. Of families. The boys and girls who sold papes on the street did it to earn a little extra money for their family if times were bad. Or they would do it every once in awhile to earn some pocket money. Family was normal in Queens. But that didn't mean there weren't newsies who were alone.

Known as Lady O'Connor, she had only one connection to a family. Around her neck, she wore a simple silver chain upon which hung a small silver heart. Inside were two faded pictures, one of a man, the other a woman. She had always had the locket, so she could only assume they were her parents. When she looked at their faces, she could vaguely remember a voice, the smell of cooking food, and that illusive feeling of security. The only other place she had ever felt that security was with the newsies. They were her family. And with one look from her hazel eyes, she could praise or scold them. She was their Queen. She was Lady O'Connor, and to the boys and girls of Queens, her word was law.

She'd been thirteen when, in 1899, the newsies of New York had gone on strike. Lady had not yet become Queen, she was still merely what you might call a princess. That meant that she watched over a certain section of Queens, keeping control and hearing problems. Her area of control had been based in the upper third of the borough, her headquarters one of the three lodging houses provided for the newsies in Queens.

Queens had joined the strike, but had done so with the understanding that, if the strike dragged on, there would be some who would be allowed to sell merely because of financial issues. The Queens weren't above changing the world, but neither would their King have harm come to them.

Lady had, of course, been all over the city of New York since her earliest days as a newsie. She was even friends with some of the Manhattan newsies, mainly because of the fact that Manhattan was right across from her own section of Queens. She knew Jack Kelly only by name, but Racetrack and Mush had been known to spend time on the streets of Queens after a hard day of selling. However, she had never had much interaction with any of the newsies from Brooklyn. They were from a completely different world, as far as she was concerned. Manhattan had several newsies who lived with their families, which created a bond of kinship between the Queensies and the Manhattaners. Brooklyn, though, was full of newsies who had never had families, or if they had, either left or been left. Lady held no grudge against them, but she had no real fondness for them either.

She would never tell anyone that the accent of the Brooklynites was, in her opinion, very...ear-catching. Lady never gave anything away that she didn't mean to. She had learned as a young girl on the streets of New York to hide her emotions and thoughts. It was safer that way; for herself, and others. That was why, on that day at the age of thirteen, when she led her third of Queens to stand with the other newsies and working boys and girls, no one had ever clued in to her instant attraction to one newsie in particular.

Spot Conlon stood with his Brooklyn boys, his cane held securely in both hands. As her boys and girls surrounded her, her eyes kept flicking back to him. He never noticed her, and for that, she was eternally grateful. She didn't want to catch the attention of the Brooklyn King. But when the rally was over and she and her crew were making their way back home, she wished, somewhere deep down in some area of herself she hadn't even known existed, that he _had_ noticed her. She gave herself a shake and attempted to forget the boy who had made her heart pound. She was a Queensie, which meant Brooklyn was not for her.

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Spot Conlon didn't know what had made him glance to the left. All he knew was that, there, surrounded by a silent group of newsies, stood a girl who had made his heart stop. She had cropped her hair close to her head and she was wearing the same type of stuff that he himself wore, but he could most definitely tell she was female. It was the way she stood there, one hip cocked, arms crossed, chin up, eyes half closed. He didn't know who she was, but by the way the newsies around her were standing, she was someone important to them. Then it hit him. She was the one they called Lady, the one in command of the northern newsies of Queens. It was rumored that she would be declared new leader when the present King stepped down.

He kept his eyes straight ahead, acting as though he were paying attention to what was going on in front of him. He barely registered the fact that Jack was getting a ride from the Governor himself because his eyes kept creeping sideways to once again look at the short brunette who had appeared as silently as a ghost. As the crowd cheered for Jacky, he looked again. But she, and her group of newsies, were gone. It was, he knew, a long walk back to Queens.

He was glad that she'd left. He didn't need a distraction who apparently didn't even know how to smile. The newsies from Queens were notorious for that. They held their cards close to the chest and could beat just about anyone in a game of poker. Their faces gave nothing away. He was the King of Brooklyn. He was glad that the slender Queensie had shown no interest in him. His heart had been acting oddly because of the excitement swirling around him, not because of her. But, as he rode in the Governor's carriage back to Brooklyn, a smile slapped on his face, he couldn't help but feel a little...miffed. Why hadn't she shown an interest? Every other female did...Giving himself a hard shake, he stepped down onto the streets of Brooklyn, determined to forget anything about the girl who had made his heart stop. After all, he was a full of life Brooklynite and she, as a somber Queensie, was not for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Several years had passed since that day at the newsie rally, but Lady O'Connor could still recall the boy who had caught and held her attention. He had been wearing a blue shirt and red suspenders...and she should be focusing on the work at hand, not thinking about some boy who didn't even know she existed. Alright, perhaps he knew she existed now, but that was just because of the fact that she was the Queen of all the Queens newsies. She was on the same level as him now. However, in the three years that she had been leader, she had never needed to visit him or confront him over any issue. His newsies stayed in their territory, hers stayed in Queens.

And then, one day, that all changed when three of her younger boys came back to the lodging house, bloody and broke. Apparently, several boys from Brooklyn had crossed into Queens territory with the sole purpose of stealing from and beating up her charges. She would not stand for it. Her eyes grew steely as she and several of her older newsies walked the short distance to Brooklyn. It was time, she thought, that she and Spot Conlon had a royal discussion, no matter how just the thought of him made her heart speed up. First and foremost, she was the Queen of Queens and the miscreants who had harmed her boys would be made to pay for it.

Spot Conlon had been sitting playing a game of poker with a few of his boys when loud voices from downstairs grabbed his attention. He knew those voices. One of them was that of his right hand man, Spook. Spot was interested enough to fold and head towards the source of the commotion. When he reached the ground floor, he found Spook glaring at two sullen lads who were probably fourteen years old.

Spot, now a solid nineteen, stayed hidden so as to hear what the problem between Spook and the two was.

"You pea-brained idiots!" Spook yelled. "Do ya' know what ya've done? Do ya'?" Flailing his arms around, he glowered at the two again. "Ya' had ta's go and take money from those guys?"

Spot, who had found the whole confrontation rather interesting up to that point, now began to grow concerned. If these two had taken money from one of the many groups of lowlifes roaming the city, he was sending them out on their ear. He had people to look out for, after all. His mind, however, ground to a halt when he heard what Spook said next.

"Lady O'Connor will make ya' heads roll! She and her boys don't put up with shit like this! You heard about them boys from the Bronx a couple months ago, right? They barely walked away from that! And your little stunt is bringing her _here, _to Brooklyn!"

Before Spot could do more than realize that Spook had said the name of the girl who had haunted his memory for years, one of the two "pea-brained idiots" spoke up. "She's just a girl! What can she do to Brooklyn? Queens has not'ing on us!

Spook stared at him with his mouth open. He finally managed to snap it shut and stepped forward, grabbing the boys by their collars and speaking directly into their faces with his teeth clenched. "Never, and I mean NEVER, underestimate Queens...Those newsies will protect each other like wild animals...And ya' call Lady O'Connor 'just a girl' 'cause ya've never seen her fight. I have. She didn't just black the guys eye...no...she popped out a couple of his teeth and broke his nose. And now ya've gone and beaten up and stolen from a couple of her boys? She'll take it out of ya' hide, Weed. You and Snake here are next on her list...She'll be here today, and now ya've got to explain to Spot why the Queen of the Queens newsies is coming banging on the front door. Good luck with that!"

At this point, Spot stepped out into the open and everyone who had gathered turned to look at him. As the two idiots turned to face him, he already knew that he would beat them up himself just for the fact that they had gone against the newsie code and beaten up another boroughs newsie for personal gain. He stared at them hard for a few seconds, his grey blue eyes growing steely as they stayed trained on first one and then the other.

He could tell that they both knew he wasn't going to save them. They had done Brooklyn a great wrong, and he was going to let them pay the price. They had apparently expected Brooklyn to stand behind them in the decision they had made. Wrong. Queens could have them, for all he cared. Though he would, as he turned and strutted out of the room, be interested in seeing how the Queen of Queens had grown up over the past four years. He could also prove to himself that she had had no real effect on him that day at the rally. He slapped a smirk on his face as he headed back up to the poker game. He would know when she was there. All hell was gonna break loose.


	3. Chapter 3

Lady O'Connor walked quickly and with a sure stride down the streets of Brooklyn. Most of the passerby probably thought she was a boy, and those who did realize that she was of the feminine persuasion, weren't likely to do or say anything, what with the contingent she had brought from home. With her were Preacher, Knuckles, Smirk, Robby, and Knight. All five of them were older than sixteen and had earned muscle from helping out on the docks. They all towered over her, creating a wall of shadow that most people found very intimidating. Not that she couldn't be intimidating on her own. She had made grown men back down with just a look and sharp rebuke. Her right hand man, Smirk, had told her several times that, if she didn't already have a newsie name, she would have done "Scold" proud. Because of her sharp tongue, she rarely had to get physical, which was a good thing where everyone was concerned. She didn't like having to hurt people to teach a lesson or prove a point, and most people didn't like being hurt. A win-win situation for both sides, in her opinion.

Now, however, here she was in Brooklyn, with the sole intention of beating the stuffing out of two very idiotic Brooklyn newsies. Nobody messed with her boys. Nobody. And if Spot Conlon wanted to get in her way, fine by her. She would take him down, then get on with the real issue.

Spot hadn't had to wait long. She must have set off as soon as she heard about what had happened. He was in the middle of another round of poker, doing really well, too, when he felt the tension in the air. It was like the entire lodging house got real quite, real quick. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to get down to the ground floor. He placed himself in the doorway and waited. Sure enough, within a minute or so, she rounded the corner and headed straight for him. He could tell it was her. Even from that far away, he could tell. She had that walk that he couldn't help but enjoy. It held confidence, with a sway to the hips that men so liked to watch. However, her shoulders were also squared and her arms were loose at her sides. She was there ready for a fight. And if he couldn't have read that from her body language, the sight of the five tall boys behind her would have.

His gaze didn't leave the Queen of Queens for too long, however. She was rapidly getting closer, and so he turned and said to Spook, who was standing just behind him, "Go and get 'em, but keep 'em out 'a sight until I tells ya'."

Spook was off with a nod. He heard a brief scuffle and then tension filled silence once again. He hadn't said anything to his boys about how he was going to handle the situation, so they were probably a little nervous. The last thing they needed was a borough war between Queens and Brooklyn. No matter how tough Brooklyn was, Spook hadn't been lying when he'd described the fighting style of the Queensies as animalistic. Few messed with Brooklyn...No one messed with Queens.

As the six Queensies got nearer, Spot grasped his gold headed cane tight for a moment. She was beautiful. Damn it! He'd hoped to prove to himself that there had been no true emotion the last time he had seen her. Well...that idea was just shitted out the window...

Lady was glad for her years of practice with the legendary Queens poker face. Without it, she wasn't sure if she would have been able to pull off this meeting with the Brooklyn King. He was more handsome than she remembered...Which was saying something, because she was sure that she had exaggerated his looks in her own head. That was most assuredly not the case. His grey blue eyes were visible even as she was walking towards the lodging house.

She wasn't unaware of the tension that was radiating from every Brooklyn newsie, however. She was from Queens, so she was wonderful at multitasking...She could admire a fine male specimen while also scanning the area for threats. People who had never met a Queens newsie were sure they were merely quite and easily dealt with. The reason that the Manhattan newsies hadn't come to Queens for assistance in their strike like they had gone to Brooklyn? Brooklyn was well known for its open fighting style. What most of New York didn't know, however, was that the undisputed leader in the boroughs was Queens. If two other boroughs had issues they needed to resolve, they would head to Queens. She was more than willing to act as a neutral party, settling disputes before they blew. That could be bad for her boys and girls, which was something she would not stand for.

That reminded her, she was here for a very specific reason. And she hoped to hell and back that Spot Conlon was going to cooperate. She didn't want to have to start a borough war...but to avenge her boys, she would. And she had a feeling that every single Brooklyn newsie standing around knew it. And that was not something any borough wanted...Even Brooklyn.


	4. Chapter 4

Lady stopped about two feet from the front steps of the Brooklyn lodging house, bracing her feet and popping her hands on her hips. She stood that way and kept a steady gaze on Spot's face, waiting. And waiting was something that she was very good at.

His eyes swept over her from head to foot. If she hadn't been a Queens newsie, she was sure that she would have blushed. His eyebrow was cocked and he held the same gold headed cane in his right hand. Finally, he spoke, and she felt a shiver go down her spine at the slight huskiness of his voice. There was something that had changed slightly over the years. Not only had his shoulders gotten broader, but his voice had gotten deeper. Again, she was thankful for the ability to hide her reactions.

The words that he had spoken would have made anyone else bristle. "Well, well, well...We are finally granted a visit from Lady O'Connor. Welcome ta' Brooklyn, love. Hope ya' enjoy ya' stay."

She didn't bother responding to any of the obvious insults in those few short sentences. She wasn't really that impressed with them...She had heard much worse. Had dealt with much worse. But, this was Brooklyn, and she knew not to underestimate these newsies. They weren't above playing dirty when they needed to. Now was not the time to pick a fight with their leader. She was looking for a fight with two weasels who claimed that they were Brooklyn newsies. With that thought in mind, she cut right to the chase.

"Look, Conlon, I'm here for two things...You might call them people...I'm going to call them examples. I want the two weasels who beat up some of my younger boys in Queens earlier today. And don't," she added, when he smirked again and opened his mouth to say something she was sure she didn't really want to hear, "give me any bullshit about how you have no idea what I'm talking about. I could literally cut the tension around here with a knife." She was sure that her eyes had gotten hard and brittle looking in their greenness. She didn't mess around when her boys were abused.

At her sharp rebuke of their leader, several of the boys started muttering. Spot raised his cane and the crowd fell silent again. He didn't seem too offended by what she had said, which spoke well of him, in her opinion. It meant that he was somewhat levelheaded. The leader of the Bronx wasn't nearly as calm as he was. And she would know...He had been especially vocal in his pursuit of her. She had finally had to send him a message through a black eye and broken nose. He hadn't come back around since, for which she was very grateful. She hadn't been sure for how much longer she could keep her boys from going after him. And that would have meant open war between Queens and the Bronx...Which would have been a pointless war, but a war nonetheless.

Spot stood there, seeming to contemplate his next move. His eyes kept scanning her, and she could tell that he was enjoying the view. Lady knew that she wasn't overly endowed, but she did have some curve, and the part of her that was unabashedly female appreciated the scrutiny. However, the part of her that led Queens wanted to scratch his eyes out for his perusal. Again, she felt the need to blush, which she was fairly certain she contained for the most part.

The hand holding his cane came up again, and this time he made a small motion with it. This seemed to be some sort of message for a person behind him, for within a few seconds, he stepped aside and two boys were thrust forward. They fit the descriptions that her newsies had given her of their assailants. She glanced at Conlon, who was keeping those piercing eyes of his on the two newsies now standing between them. He handed his cane and his slingshot to the boy who had brought the two out and then stepped forward. He slugged one of the two full on in the face, the other got a sharp jab to the gut. Moving back, he looked over at her and said, "They's is all yo's now...I don't claim 'em as Brooklyn newises no more."

The other boy handed his leader the two weapons back and took up a position behind Spot. Lady was rather surprised, but didn't let it show. She nodded, turning her head slightly and jerking it towards the two boys who were now standing alone in the circle of boys. Smirk stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, and grabbed the two by the back of their collars. He held them still as Lady rolled up the sleeves of her own shirt. She had no intention of taking them back to Queens with her. Brooklyn could kick them out after she was done.

Instead of hitting them immediately, however, which she knew was what they expected, she stood in front of them and said, "You two really thought, honest to goodness, that you could get away with a stunt like that? You broke one of the main newsie codes! You beat up another newsie for profit! You thought I was just gonna let you walk away from that without some sort of punishment? You two are pretty stupid then...Just remember, you asked for this the minute you hurt my boys."

With no further warning, Smirk let them go and Lady started swinging. Spook had not been lying when he had described her fighting ability. She was good...The two boys went down fairly quickly and were smart enough to actually stay down. She had fought boys before who would get up four or five times before giving up. Not too smart when you're fighting someone who understands the idea of agility over strength.

Brushing her pants off when she was down, she glanced over at the blue eyed boy who had given the two to her. "We don't care what you do with them now...Queens wants nothing to do with them." And with that parting shot, she turned and began walking back the same way she had come. The five boys closed in behind her, hiding her from view. They protected her back, and she appreciated them for it. She didn't especially enjoy having to beat people up, so that gave her a few minutes of semi-privacy after a brawl.

All she wanted to do now was go back to her home in Queens and play a few rounds of cards with her friends. Being the leader really wasn't that fun all the time.


End file.
